Having Faith
by N'yrthghar
Summary: Nick was always good at running, so when Zootopia changes for the worst, it ends up being what he does best. But when the ZPD finally has someone who can match him, he'll need to make a tough choice: If he wants to keep running, or make a stand and try to fix the city.
1. Haste

Nick was a runner. It was what he did best.

Well, after hustling, that is.

But when the government was usurped and a tyrannical replacement came along, hustling was far less prosperous a line of work than it was before. Between the harsh laws, strict regulations, and near-constant surveillance, hustling proved to not be worth the risk, despite the great pay.

And when no business would hire him – of course, simply due to his being a fox – Nick turned to the less-than-legal activities for income. And so, he became a runner. To be perfectly honest, they were more like couriers, as what they transported was (mostly) legal. Medicine, food, clothes, and the like were transported discreetly so that the new government couldn't confiscate the items. But, on occasion, there were satchels of questionable content that needed to be transported. Most often, these were guns, government documents not meant for the public, blackmail, etc.

Even though the highest officials of the city didn't want to admit it, they did use the runners. Covertly, of course, and almost always through some sort of middle-mammal, but it was a convenient way to have secret and private information moved around without risk of it being found on their person.

And should a runner be caught with the information... The police boasted about one less runner to deal with, while the politics continued to wage on if they needed to cut back on the strict laws that formed the runners in the first place.

But these thoughts didn't bother Nick in the slightest as he stared out over the rooftops before him: a great expanse of grays and dull red-browns with contrasting silver of fences and vents jutting out like ugly sores that could only be seen from the air. To most mammals, the lengthy gap between his current roof and the next one would likely be enough to deter them from even attempting the jump across.

But was he like most mammals? No, no he was not. Before him he saw the equivalent of a playground, an obstacle course designed just for mammals like him. He jumped down from his perch, hitting the concrete roof below and rolling forwards, using his momentum to break into a sprint before flinging himself through the air. For a brief moment, he felt weightless, as if he were flying, soaring high like a bird, before he hit the next roof and again tucked into a roll.

Without breaking pace, he again pushed himself into a run and threw himself at the chain-link fence blocking off his path, scaling it with ease and swinging he legs over before dropping to the ground. He sprinted forward again, jumping over a small set of pipes and continuing towards his next roof, easily leaping between the two buildings and rolling yet again to resume his run. He eyed the next obstacle: a portion of the building that rose up over ten feet to allow room for a roof access doorway. There was a silver vent sticking out to one side of it, just high enough for the fox to climb up.

Which is exactly what he did. The vent brough him halfway up to his destination, and the other half was a simple scramble to the top, giving Nick a fairly good perch to see where he was compared to his objective: A news building several streets away.

He took a moment to glance back at his progress – two rooftops and several hundred feet, covered in under a half minute. _Not bad time, if I do say so myself,_ he thought, a small chuckle escaping him. He then turned back to his destination, staring down at the only safe way he could cross the gap: A thin pipe that ran above the wide alley, between the buildings. He didn't care to question its purpose; it could carry water, wine, gas, or anything else, but to him it was little more than another means of traversal.

Carefully, the fox stepped out onto the pipe, placing one foot over the other. He kept his eyes locked ahead as he prayed the wind wouldn't suddenly pick up during his crossing – something which seemed to pay off, as he reached the other side with nary a ruffled patch of fur. He pat the messenger bag on his hip, dropping down onto the new roof and running straight to where he knew the next roof he needed to get to was.

It was slightly alarming that there was a dip in the roof, a drop that seemed to lead into various machines for air conditioning or some such, but it did little to faze Nick; he kept close to the wall and, when he reached the edge of his current platform, he leaped up and began to run _on_ the wall. It was a tricky thing, to be sure, especially with the added weight of his bag, but the fox knew what he was doing. With the fingers of one paw brushing against the wall for balance and his legs doing their best to push him up as he traversed the gap, Nick waited until just the right moment before pushing off and jumping the rest of the way, immediately breaking back into a run.

Now the next jump was going to be far more tricky, as it was a street-wide jump with no pipe to help ferry him to safety – though, thankfully, the next roof was lower than his current one. In an effort to keep his momentum going, the fox gave no pause as he ran alongside the wall again, running up it at a slight angle just as he neared the edge and pushing off with all his might. His stomach rose as he reached the apex of his jump, before it began to fall with him as he neared the roof. A single, terrified thought exploded into his mind of not making the jump and freefalling the eight stories to the uncaring pavement below. This was quickly wiped away by the sight of him clearing the edge of the roof, his feet meeting the cold rooftop, to which he instinctively tucked into a roll, which he turned into a slide as he neared a wall, his shins (thankfully protected by his thick cargo pants) slipping along the gravel top.

Nick rested there a moment, letting his adrenaline from the jump wear off as he caught his breath. Once he was done, he let out a chuckle, followed by a laugh, as he slowly stood up and dusted off his pants. His laughter was cut short, however, by a slightly irritated voice in his ear.

"You alright, Nick?" The voice, cheery and a bit high pitched, made Nick smile more. He reached up and pressed a button on his earpiece to respond.

"Yeah, Spots, I'm fine. Just gave death another high-four as I passed is all."

"Again?" Clawhauser laughed. The portly cheetah always took great amusement in Nick's sassy remarks about how dangerous the life of a runner was.

"Again," Nick confirmed, again chuckling as he made his way to the nearby door. In order to get to his destination from here, he needed to get inside the building – no route around it, unfortunately. He reached into one pocket and pulled out a flimsy fake credit card – the kind one could easily get in the mail.

He began to press it between the door and its frame when another voice sounded in his ear. "Alright, well if you're done showing off for Ben, some of us have a job to do, Wilde."

Nick flicked an ear dismissively, grinning as the door swung open and he slipped inside. "Right you are, bud. What do you think I'm doing?"

There was a grunt of annoyance, before the line went quiet. Nick rolled his eyes as he walked into the building, slipping past doors and heading up a single flight of stairs. The mammal he was meant to pass off the package to, a silver fox named Mercer, was always having a bad attitude with Nick and his carefree nature on the job. It had never gotten between them during 'work', and after the two acted fairly nicely to one another, but it always felt more like tolerance on Mercer's behalf.

"Oh, Nick, be careful. Sounds like some cops are around – a news chopper saw you and tipped them off." Clawhauser sounded in his ear suddenly, the fox examining his surroundings as he tried thinking of a way around whomever they would send. If he was lucky, it would be the rhino and elephant duo again – they were fun to toy with and easy to escape.

"Thanks, Benji," Nick said, grunting as he climbed up a large stack of unmarked boxes. He could take a guess at their contents – paperwork, most likely, given that he was in the financial portion of downtown. "Think it'll be the dynamic duo again?"

"I don't know, Nick, they've been catching on lately." The cheetah sounded a little worried. The fox jumped to the wall across from him, stepped up once, and pushed off again, landing on a vent. He casually walked across it, heading to an open vent above his current one. Thankfully, it seemed that maintenance was lax all over the city, and most of the small vents that only covered a few feet and were near the ceiling were almost always uncovered.

"I'm sure it's not a problem," Nick said reasurringly. He easily jumped up and pulled himself into the vent, crawling on all fours as he navigated the small space. It was fairly simple – two left turns in the area of about six feet, before a drop into the next room. If the schematics he had checked were correct, he needed to turn right, head up some stairs, outside, then onto another roof before he could get to his destination.

With a shrug, Nick pushed himself through the small hole and rolled the moment he hit the ground. Much to his surprise, however, there was a group of ZPD officers before him. His eyes widened slightly as he gave an innocent grin as they all turned to him – a sheep, elephant, rhino, and... Rabbit?

It was the rabbit who shouted - "ZPD! Drop that bag and put your paws in the air!" Each officer was drawing a weapon and moving towards him. Without saying a word, Nick turned to his right, and ran for the stairs. He heard calls and shouts for him to stop and the thundering of hooves and feet behind him as he sprinted up the red metal stairs. A quick glance below him showed that the ZPD was right behind him, the rabbit being just one turn behind.

Nick snapped his head forward and focused – if he tripped on these stairs, it would be over. He forced his way up them, though, and flung himself against the door at the top, which led into another hallway. Without pause he continued forward, slamming into another door and flinging it open as he made it to the roof. He spun left and ran towards the far edge of the roof, hoping the quick turn would buy him a few precious seconds.

He had almost made it to his jump when a loud bang rang out, followed almost instantly after by the sound of metal caving. Were they _shooting_ at him?

Nick didn't have time to check; instead, he jumped across to the other roof, hitting the ground with a roll and using the momentum to roll over some air conditioners set in his path, before vaulting over a set of pipes that rose to his chest. His ear flicked at the sound of something hitting the roof behind him, as well as more shots, but he didn't dare turn to look.

"Wilde, what's going on?" Mercer asked. "I can hear shots and this heli's hanging around a bit longer than is welcome."

"Not now!" Nick snapped, throwing himself over a fence. He sprinted at the railing to the roof and flung himself over that, as well, rolling as he landed on a pair of massive air conditioning units. He jumped up again to get back onto the roof before turning left and jumping over a small gap, landing beside a water tower.

The fox continued forward, swerving as he heard even more shots – these ones coming from close by. Were there cops on this roof, too? Nick refocused as he jumped on a small pipe, then the small A/C unit just behind it, bouncing up and pulling himself over the railing that led to a telephone box on his left. Turning and running to his right, Nick followed the path he was on to another doorway similar to his earlier one. Unlike the other though, this had no vent to help him. So instead, the fox cautiously climbed up the railing and balanced himself just long enough to jump to the top of the platform, pulling himself up. He sprinted to the edge and, hoping he had the speed, threw himself across the gap to the fire escape on the opposite building.

Pausing just a moment to catch his breath, Nick glanced behind him. Three ZPD officers stood on the opposite roof, glaring at him – including that rabbit. Nick flashed them a grin as he began to run up the stairs to the roof, out of their view.

When he reached the top, a whistle caught his ear and made him look up, to the roof of another adjacent building. Mercer stood there, his dark fur making him stand out against the blue sky, especially with the white marks running up his left arm. "Throw me the bag!" he called.

Nick nodded, tugging free the satchel and throwing it up to the other fox. "Be careful," he called back. "They're a little trigger happy today."

"So I've noticed," Mercer called back, before pointing behind Nick. "Get out of here!"

Nick spun around to see a TUSK unit moving onto the opposite side of the roof as him. "That's a bit of overkill, don't you think?" he called out. The unit began to turn and aim at him with their tranquilizer guns, before Nick took off down the roof. It was, unfortunately, much more open than he would like. He needed a plan to get off of this roof, and fast. A plan quickly formed in his mind as he spotted the news helicopter Mercer had mentioned, ahead of him.

With renewed vigor, the fox sprinted forward, until something grabbed the back of his pants. "Oh, no you don't!" hissed a voice behind him. Nick stumbled back a few steps, before hooking his right leg behind whoever had grabbed him to his surprise, it was the rabbit. She looked startled as their momentum forced her over his knee and, with a little extra help from Nick, she fell onto her back and let go of him.

"Sorry, Carrots, but I've got somewhere to be." Nick quipped, resuming his sprint for the chopper. This time he managed to finish the sprint unhindered – if one ignored the hasty shots of tranq rounds that brushed past him. With a single flying leap, Nick managed to jump from the roof and, almost by sheer dumb luck, grabbed onto the landing gear to avoid an equally sheer drop. He let out a sigh of relief as he held on, glancing over his shoulder only to gasp in sudden horror.

There was that blasted rabbit again, charging at them with clear determination in her eyes. Nick was about to shout, asking if she was crazy, when he realized her intent. But the words didn't have time to escape his mouth before she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, making the fox's grip slip. "You're not getting away from me!" The rabbit spat.

"Are you insane?! What if I let go?!" Nick shouted, fear filling his voice as he felt his grip slip more. His hackles rose as he realized that he was holding on to slick, polished metal – not the textured portion of the skid designed to be stepped on.

The rabbit clearly realized this, too, as her eyes went wide as Nick felt his left paw slip free. He grasped at the metal again, but was unable to get as firm a grip as he had before. Even his right paw, which had a red fingerless glove for added grip, was beginning to slip. "Oh no," he muttered, repeated the words louder and louder the more his grip failed. "Oh no, oh no, oh no. Dangit, rabbit, why couldn't you have let me go?!"

Whatever her response was was lost as the heliopter shifted suddenly, jerking free of its unwanted cargo, and letting both Nick and the rabbit officer freefall to whatever lay below them – and frankly, he couldn't tell which of them was screaming louder.

 **I didn't expect to start writing this, but every time I sat down to try and write something else it wouldn't leave my mind... So here we are. If there's enough interest, I'll be sure to continue this, so if you liked it be sure to let me know!**

 **Now let's see if I can actually get some progress made on my other stories for once...**


	2. Alignments

Nick was cold.

Not the normal kind, a light chill when a cold wind slips through one's clothes. Not from standing right in front of an A/C unit on full blast on a hot day. Those didn't even come close. This was the kind of cold that dug well under one's fur, chilling to the bone and making one's teeth chatter.

The kind of cold that could only come from Tundratown. The snow-covered, ice-riddled streets of Zootopia's coldest district. And boy, was Nick _not_ dressed for the area. If he ever had to make a run in this district, he was geared up right – shoes, a warm jacket, and two layers of pants at least. But today, he had been running in Downtown, his outfit consisting of his cargo pants, a black tank top, and a single half-finger glove.

So, understandably, he woke with chittering teeth and a few icicles by his nose. This alone didn't make him happy. On top of that, his back ached. And to add on top of _that_ , he had a rabbit in a police uniform atop him – unconscious, go figure.

It was now that his hearing returned to full volume – he hadn't realized how muted everything had sounded up until this point. And whatever he was on, it was _loud_. Almost as loud as a train. And that was probably because, well, it _was_ a train. He and the rabbit had, somehow, landed on top of a coal car. Through some sheer bit of luck, they hadn't sunken into the black rocks, but were riding relatively comfortably on top of them. Or as comfortably as one could be when laying on a massive pile of ever-shifting rocks with sharp sides that seemed to want to dig through his clothes and stain his fur.

Oh, not to mention the surprisingly heavy bunny currently sprawled across him. The same bunny that he shoved off and onto the coal, before crawling his way to the edge of the train car. Thankfully, the train seemed to be slowing down, the loud screeching of brakes sounding all around them as they began to slow down. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to stay and find out.

Before he jumped over the edge, however, a faint groan met his ear and caused him to turn back. The rabbit had shifted, eyes still shut in a way that, if the fox didn't know any better, would make her seem asleep. He had to admit, it was amusing. But with the train slowing down more and more, she began to shift, and began to slide partly under the coal. Without hesitation, Nick reached out and grabbed her wrist, tugging her out of the coal and to the edge.

Normally, he'd just leave an officer wherever he found them. But he had a sneaking suspicion that, if he didn't at least move her, that would lead to some kind of unforeseen consequence, and that was something he'd rather avoid. And so he picked up the rabbit officer and hopped down from the train car the moment it was moving slow enough, glancing both ways before running in the opposite direction of the train's front. He knew he was leaving tracks, but he hoped that no one would be investigating this far back, and if they were, he hoped he could lose them in time.

Nick slid down a hill and bounced up at the bottom, careful to not prematurely wake the rabbit he held. He needed to find someplace warm for her – leaving her lying out in the snow would be a bad idea for various reasons. He was sure he could find an abandoned shop or some dark bar that she could be hidden away in until she woke.

But of course, as luck would have it, there was no way she would be out that long. As Nick was carrying her out of an alley, in the direction of a bar he had occasionally visited before things went from bad to worse, she stirred. Nick managed to stifle his panic, coming to a stop at the end of the alley and set the rabbit down. If she was waking, then it would be a good idea for him to move on.

As Nick turned away from the officer, he heard her teeth chatter and she began to stir on the ground. With a quick glance back over his shoulder, he turned and made to run back down the alley, planning to double back on his tracks and make his way to a safehouse he knew was nearby. The fox turned and began to jog down the alley.

A sharp shout from behind him made him glance back. The rabbit officer was getting to her feet, holding up a badge in his direction. "Stop! Stop in the name of the law!"

And Nick, without looking where he was going, did indeed stop. His foot hit a patch of ice he hadn't stepped on on the way down the alley, and both feet went out from under him. The fox slipped forward and landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. He sighed and picked himself up while watching the officer run towards him, holding in a laugh as she slipped on her own patch of ice. His laugh died quickly, though, as the rabbit crashed right into him, knocking him onto his back this time, and letting her essentially pin him in the process.

Nick wasted no time in rolling over to push her off, something the bunny clearly hadn't expected, as she let out a surprised grunt as she hit the ground. Nick brought himself to his feet, and brushed himself off, beginning to back away. The rabbit recovered quickly, jumping forward and tackling Nick again. This time he held up his paws and stared up innocently at the rabbit. "You are under arrest," she stated simply, reaching around to grab her pawcuffs.

"Really? For what?" Nick asked calmly. He was glancing around, taking note of his surroundings to make a way out of this situation if words failed him.

"Trafficking of illegal goods and evasion of police, at the very least," she replied just as calmly.

"Is that so?" Nick asked. "What illegal goods?"

"Whatever was in that satchel."

"Whatever was in that satchel?" Nick confirmed. "So in other words you don't know. For all you can tell, it was an empty bag." Nick smirked slightly at seeing the bunny's ears droop and her paw freeze behind her back.

"You still attempted to evade the police," she argued.

"I was getting _shot_ at," Nick countered. "Literally _anybody_ would run from gunfire. Call it panic if you want." The bunny's ears drooped further, and Nick's smirk grew. "So see? You have nothing on me, Carrots."

The rabbit gave Nick the closest thing he'd heard to a bunny snarl. " _Don't_ call me Carrots."

"Well then _don't_ keep me pinned here if you've no reason to arrest me. If you haven't noticed, it's a bit cold out and I'm not dressed for the weather." Nick sighed in relief as the rabbit, with clear reluctance, got off of him and let the fox stand up. He shivered and shook himself to clear snow from his body, glancing to the rabbit as she glared at him. "Now then, anything I can help you with, Officer Carrots?"

"You can _start_ with never calling me that. Ever. Again." She hissed. Nick just chuckled and shook his head, continuing to brush himself off while the officer stared at him. It was clear she was inspecting him, trying to figure something out.

"Alright, I know I'm handsome, but if you keep staring at me like that-" Nick couldn't even finish his sentence, as the horrified expression on the rabbit's face, combined with her comedic recoil as she looked away, made him burst into laughter. When he recovered, he set his paws on his hips, and stared down at the rabbit. "For the record, you did a _really_ stupid thing. Why did you jump off the roof at me?"

"You're a runner who we were told to take into custody," she said simply, looking up at the fox. She gave him a funny look that made it seem like she thought it was a silly question for him to ask. "And I don't give up."

"Alright, but _why_ were you trying to arrest me?" Nick asked.

"Because you're a runner, a criminal," the officer stated.

"So because I happen to enjoy running along rooftops makes me a criminal?" Nick tilted his head slightly as he challenged the smaller mammal.

"You were carrying a suspicious package and evading police," she replied. "The first is reason enough to stop you, the second is enough to arrest you."

Nick stared at the officer for another moment, letting a rumbling chuckle escape him, before letting his tone grow serious. "Alright, listen. You want to know what I had in that satchel? Medicine. Medicine for the wife of a family friend, who can't afford it on her own. She won't last long without it." Nick watched in satisfaction as the officer's ears drooped slightly. "So if you really want to, go ahead and arrest me for saving someone's life." He stuck his paws out in front of him, staring the bunny in her eyes. She stared back, clearly debating cuffing him, going so far as to take them from her belt and step forward. But then she took two steps back, frowning and looking down.

Nick lowered his arms slowly. " If I _were_ a real criminal, I would've left you in that coal car I woke up in. Besides, I'm only a 'criminal' because I'm doing something the big guys with all the money don't want – doing business without them. I'm not paying ridiculous amounts for things that are necessary for someone to live, because that isn't how things should be. The world is better than that."

The rabbit officer continued to stare at the ground, before taking a deep breath and looking up at the fox. "That's why I became a cop," she said softly. "Ever since I was little, I wanted nothing more than to make the world a better place. But arresting you wouldn't do that." She took another step forward, straightening her back and looking Nick in the eye. "So, you're free to go. But before you do," she paused and stuck out her paw. "Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD. It's nice to meet you, mister..."

Nick smiled slightly at the gesture, reaching out to shake the bunny's paw. "Wilde. Nick Wilde."

They gave a single shake, Judy offering a sincere smile. "Well, mister Wilde, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Try not to run on any more rooftops for a while, alright?"

Nick chuckled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am, Carro- er, Officer Carrots."

The rabbit rolled her eyes and began to scowl, but it turned into a smile instead. "Well, I guess that's a start," she said.


End file.
